Baby Sister
by Bookworm Gal
Summary: Evy. His dear, sweet, baby sister. She'd been taking care of him since they were children. It should have been the other way around, but she was always one to take on all the responsibility. She was always there whenever he needed her.


**I am beginning to hate my imagination. It is being far too helpful and giving me way too many ideas. Thus, another story has popped into my head. At least this one is short. I don't need another long, involved epic.**

**This one is fairly introspective and doesn't have much real dialogue. I felt like exploring the mind of a certain character at a certain point during "The Mummy Returns." I rather liked the first two movies (but not the third). I guess it was only a matter of time before this fandom grabbed my attention. So, I hope you enjoy.**

Baby Sister

He knew he was a failure. After all, he'd been hearing it his whole life. And, honestly, it never really bothered him. As far as he'd ever been able to determine, being considered a "success" meant working hard, marrying a woman, settling down, and acting like a proper gentleman. And he'd never wanted that out of life. It was always more fun doing whatever he wanted, regardless of how it might make him look or how it might make his sister glare at him.

Evy. His dear, sweet, baby sister. She'd been taking care of him since they were children. It should have been the other way around, but she was always the one to take on all the responsibility. Even then, she wanted to take care of any and all of the world's woes. She always carried the weight of the entire planet on her shoulders. Adding the responsibility of one scoundrel of a brother rarely seemed to faze her.

Besides the mandatory complaint about his lifestyle and choices, she'd always been willing to drag him out of trouble if he sank too deep and kept him from ending up homeless and broke. She put up with his treasure-hunting and pick-pocketing tendencies, regardless of how much trouble his greed tended to cause. He would simply tease her a little as she helped him out of his newest mess. Even marrying O'Connell and gaining a family beyond just him didn't stop Evy from continuing to watch out for her sibling. In fact, nothing short of death would keep her from continuing to take care of the drinking, gambling, embarrassment of a brother he was.

Which is probably why he was so shocked, so painfully stunned, when that dark-haired, snake-wielding, scary woman stabbed Evy. His mind barely registered this event before Imohtep tossed him bodily through the air. If the sight of his sister being impaled didn't knock the wind out of him, the impact with the ground certainly did.

It didn't seem possible. The very idea that she wouldn't be there someday to complain about his less-than-ideal habits was simply unthinkable. While Rick held the wounded woman in his arms, he pulled his nephew close to him. Jonathan wasn't sure what he should be saying or doing, but his mind held one clear concept: Evey would live. She _would_ live through this.

Even if he knew no one would survive being stabbed like that. Even though his brother-in-law would not be _this_ upset, practically begging her to hang on, if Evy would truly be all right. Even though he was witnessing her final breath in person. He couldn't accept it.

He'd seen a corpse come to life and walk the desert. He'd seen a few words transform a dead body into a terrifying monster. He'd seen the plagues of Egypt unleashed upon the world again. He'd seen sandstorms with a face, pygmy mummies, and other acts of magic. And yet, the most unbelievable thing he'd witnessed was the absolute stillness of his baby sister.

It was just wrong. Evy might have a knack for trouble, but never this bad. She might knock over some books, accidentally revive a cursed mummy, but she always turned out no worse for wear. Even as O'Connell left them behind in order to stop Imhotep, Jonathan couldn't quite accept that she was… that Evy could be…

No, it just couldn't be real. After everything they had survived in the past, it couldn't be true. But not even in his deepest drunken stupor would he have dreamed up something this horrible. And some of them had been odd, especially after their first encounter with Imhotep.

The weird scorpion shadow and an uneasy sense of something dangerous being unleashed was a rather welcomed distraction from that line of thought. Even the army of Anubis trying to destroy the world was easier to consider than what just happened to her.

He looked at Alex. The boy was heartbroken, for obvious reasons. First he was kidnapped and then… Evy didn't even get to hold him again before she was…

He was so much like his mother. Not in looks, but in other ways. He was smart and loved the stories of Egypt. Listening to him describe the golden pyramid was almost exactly like listening to Evey tell similar stories of lost cities and nearly-forgotten legends. He even had her talent for sticking his nose into things he shouldn't. But he had enough of his father to keep him from being overly-serious as Evy was prone to be. Jonathan generally got along well with his nephew. This time, he didn't know what to say to him.

He was never good at comforting someone. Especially when he was equally upset. When their parents had died, he wasn't the one who remained the firm foundation of their family. He was the one who spent the time immediately afterwards in a state of (greater than usual) drunkenness. No, he wasn't the best at offering comfort. That was her job. Evy took care of things. She was the dependable, responsible one. But she wasn't here. She was… gone.

He tried to find something to say. He searched his memory for what people said when he and Evy lost their own parents. He didn't remember it actually helping, but it couldn't be worse than sitting around in silence.

As soon as he began to speak, however, Alex switched from sorrow to determination. The boy kept insisting they needed to hurry. He told him to pick up Evy and follow _now_. It wasn't until his nephew stated one important phrase that Jonathan understood and began to share his surge of new-found hope.

The Book of the Dead.

The more Alex outlined the plan, the more it sounded possible to actually make things right. His nephew could read the hieroglyphs and bring her back. It could work.

One aspect of the plan that was a little less promising was the fact he was supposed to be the distraction to buy the boy some time. He might be a decent shot, but he wasn't Rick. It was a very rare fight that he could win. And these people did not stop at just injuring an opponent. If he failed, he would die. In fact, he would probably die horribly. And he was the failure of the family…

He glanced at his baby sister as he set her down, about to go challenge the woman who murdered her. Evy always took care of him, even if any other person would have given up on him years ago. She was always the one who could be depended on. She was the one that was responsible and brave enough to follow her dreams, regardless of what the Bembridge scholars might say or how many ancient curses she might face. She was always there whenever he needed her and never gave up once she made a decision.

But_ he_ was the big brother. He was the one was supposed to protect her from harm. He may have never taken that responsibility seriously and O'Connell might be far better at that sort of thing, but she needed him. She needed him this one time to come through for her. If there was a chance to bring Evy back, he would do whatever was needed. He was a failure in most aspects of his life, but he could not, _would_ not, fail his baby sister.

**I know it isn't much, but I tried my best to at least attempt to capture that moment. It is supposed to be a short piece, which means I hopefully won't be overwhelmed by further attacks by imagination. **

**Feedback is always appreciated. Thanks.**


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